Trade Me taps Kul Singh Kargil as CEO after Anders Skoe exit

Trade Me has appointed Kul Singh Kargil as its next chief executive, with Anders Skoe stepping down at the end of September after seven years in the role. Kargil, who most recently served as chief commercial and marketing officer at REA Group, will join in mid-September.

Chair Owen Wilson framed the move as the right time for a handover after Skoe led the platform through strategic change under private-equity ownership. The timing lands as Apax Partners, Trade Me’s owner since 2019, has been linked to renewed sale efforts and the business has cut casual seller fees while taking a stake in Stuff Digital.

Kargil takes the baton from Skoe

Skoe is returning to Europe. Wilson said the board thanks him for outstanding leadership that leaves the company in a strong position.

On behalf of the Board, I want to extend our deepest gratitude to Anders for his outstanding leadership and dedication over the years. He leaves Trade Me in a strong position for future success.

Wilson, Trade Me chair, made the comments in the company’s statement. Skoe said the decision was difficult but the company is well placed.

“It has been a privilege to lead Trade Me and work alongside such a talented and passionate team. I am immensely proud of everything we accomplished together to serve our customers and our community. The company is in a strong position, and I am delighted to hand the baton to Kul,” Skoe said.

Kargil called the role a privilege and a return home. “Trade Me has been part of the fabric of Aotearoa for more than two decades, and I feel incredibly privileged to be given the opportunity to lead this incredible business into its next era,” he said.

What Kul Singh Kargil brings from REA

Kargil spent more than a decade at REA Group, Australasia’s large digital property business. As chief commercial and marketing officer he oversaw commercial divisions plus audience, brand, customer experience and marketing.

• Earlier senior roles in strategy, marketing, sales and brand at GE Capital in financial services
• Leadership positions in healthcare marketing and brand at GlaxoSmithKline
• REA tenure that included sales leadership before the broader commercial and marketing brief
• A Kiwi returning after the Australian run, with property-classifieds experience that maps directly onto one of Trade Me’s core verticals

Wilson said the board sees him as the ideal person for the next growth stage, citing operational expertise and a customer-centric approach. REA itself noted his departure after more than ten years as it appointed a successor in the commercial role.

Seven years that reshaped the platform

Skoe arrived in 2019 from Schibsted, where he had led Nordic marketplaces including Finn.no. He took the Trade Me job shortly after the NZ$2.56 billion Apax acquisition in 2019, which took the company private at NZ$6.45 per share.

Under his watch the business expanded its classifieds, motors and property presence while remaining New Zealand’s dominant online marketplace. Headcount sits around 600. The platform still lists general goods, cars, property, jobs and more, with sister sites including FindSomeone and Holiday Houses.

Wilson credited Skoe with strengthening core offerings across New Zealand’s digital market during a period of significant strategic evolution.

Apax ownership and the exit window

Funds advised by Apax Partners completed the buyout in May 2019, valuing Trade Me at roughly NZ$2.56 billion (about US$1.7 billion then). The deal was New Zealand’s largest private-equity transaction at the time. Apax still lists the company as a current holding in its Apax Partners Trade Me holding.

Media reports in 2025 described a refinancing and sale preparation, with earnings above NZ$350 million and potential enterprise value around NZ$4 billion. A February 2026 report said Apax was again testing buyer interest at higher numbers near NZ$6.8 billion. No deal has closed. The CEO change after a full PE hold period often precedes an exit or major recapitalisation.

The Trade Me history and ownership record shows the pattern: founder sale, media ownership, public float, then PE.

Moves Kargil inherits right away

Two recent decisions set the stage. In June 2025 Trade Me took a 50 percent stake in Stuff’s Stuff Digital division, covering Stuff.co.nz and the ThreeNews bulletin. Stuff’s property section was set to rebrand as Trade Me Property with shared listings and ads.

In early March 2026 the company said it would eliminate success fees for casual sellers. The old rate sat at 7.9 percent of the final price. The change targets competition from Facebook Marketplace. Trade Me also planned to phase out some bank-transfer options while pushing its Ping service, cash and Afterpay, and introduced progressive buyer fees above NZ$20.

Those steps protect volume in general merchandise while property and motors remain higher-margin engines. Auto-industry coverage already flagged the CEO swap as relevant to Trade Me Motors sellers and dealers.

Property strength meets marketplace scale

Kargil’s REA background puts a property-classifieds specialist at the top of a business that already ranks among New Zealand’s top sites by traffic and membership. Trade Me once reported five million active members and hundreds of thousands of daily visitors in a country of roughly five million people.

The platform faces the same dual pressure as peers worldwide: keep casual users active against free social marketplaces while extracting more value from professional motors and real-estate listings. The Stuff tie-up and fee reset are early answers. A commercial operator who has run audience, brand and sales at scale in Australia arrives with tools for the next round.

Skoe leaves after the transition. The Trade Me about us executive team page still listed him as CEO in recent weeks; that will update once Kargil starts. Overlap is planned so the handoff is clean.

For now the facts are simple. A seven-year European-led chapter ends. A Kiwi commercial executive with deep REA experience takes the chair at a PE-owned national marketplace that has already begun adjusting fees and media ties for the next fight.